Chapter 1356: The Three Dukes

“What the heck was that, it blew a hole in a king grade formation!” Li Zhen gaped.

Lu Yun’s formation had cost at least three premium crystal veins, but the Robber King had forced a hole through it!

“That was a real treasure, what a damn shame it’s ruined.” Heartache crossed Lu Yun’s face as he looked at the dispersing smoke.

There were also natural treasures in the Hongmeng. Ones born naturally in the land were called connate treasures in the worlds, chaos treasures or ultimate chaos treasures in the chaos, and ultimate Hongmeng treasures in the third realm.

The bead that the Robber King had detonated was one such ultimate treasure. Lu Yun didn’t have a single one yet, yet their opponent had ruined one so easily! If I’d known about this beforehand, I would’ve scammed him out of his seed storage instead.

“Ai, it looks like I’m the naive one instead,” Lu Yun remarked glumly.

Li Zhen and Qing Ting looked wordlessly at each other.

“We can’t stay here for long, the ghosts will send someone to investigate the disturbance. We need to go!” Lu Yun made preparations to depart.

“We can’t,” Qing Ting chuckled wryly. She pointed around them—or rather, at a second step ghost king, two first steps, and a couple million ordinary ghosts that’d appeared out of nowhere.

They were surrounded.

The ghosts were a contingent mining another crystal vein nearby and had rushed over when they noted the disturbance. They were the ones that Lu Yun’s group wanted to take down.

“Roar!!” snarled the leading second step king. That directed the first step kings and several million ghosts in a headlong charge at the intruders.

“Li Zhen, protect yourself!” Lu Yun shouted and drew his sword, intercepting one of the first step kings. He had to kill one in the shortest amount of time possible so he could focus on the second step king.

Lu Yun didn’t want to use any schemes or roundabout ways when facing the ghosts. This was a trial and chance to temper himself. As strong as his supplemental dao was, that was still supplemental dao. Only when his own cultivation was strong was that true strength.

Qing Ting didn’t say a word, she was already preoccupied with the other ghost king.

“I, am not, a burden!” Li Zhen protested with frustration. However, he also knew that he couldn’t fight a ghost king yet. He would be able to exchange moves with a king only when he reached a titled duke’s level.

He roared and released a dragon shadow from his blade, smashing it down on the endless ghosts charging them.

Transforming the blade into a dragon!

If he could reach the level of transformation, then he’d be a titled duke too!

Generally speaking, anyone who reached half step kinghood could set foot into full kinghood. However, half step kings ascended only as first step kings. The previous Dusksnow Morningstar and the current Li Zhen were at this level.

But if one was a half step king who was also a titled duke, it was very likely that one would ascend to second or third step kinghood!

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The criteria to be a titled duke was the ability to match blows with a first step king or possess equivalent battle strength. The Bloodclad, Purpleclad, and Azureclad Dukes, as well as Qing Ting, were all characters of that level. They were favored children of heaven who could even kill a first step king!

Lu Yun had once been short of that requirement—he was at most a little stronger than Li Zhen. But after he’d coalesced two tendrils of order and melded the fire into his body, his battle strength had risen explosively.

He, too, was at the titled duke level now.

With his battle strength fully unleashed and his sword dao completely deployed, one instance of Dragonrise and another of Dragonsoar circled around him like two silver dragons.

The ghost king he fought continuously retreated.

However, he was still slightly weaker than Qing Ting. He could defeat a first step king, but he couldn’t kill one by himself!

“Roar!!” The second step ghost king shifted into action. Blurring into a smear of black, it pounced on Qing Ting.

Qing Ting had grievously injured her ghost king and was about to run it through.

“So it’s you!” the second step ghost king snarled. It reached out two bony hands blazing with ghostfire and swiped viciously at Qing Ting.

She could defeat a first step ghost king and withstand a second, but the two combined would result in her death!

Hummm!

Her golden body blasted out at the second step ghost king and she flung out her flying sword, turning it into an azure dragon.

Aooouu!

Bright dragon croons rang out as the dragon fiercely bore down on the first step ghost king.

Boom!

Pfft!

The golden light sent the second step ghost king flying and her sword decapitated the first step ghost king.

“Hahaha!!” she laughed with pride. She’d done it! She’d battled a ghost king on one side and killed one on the other!

“Second step ghost king! This lady was injured by one of you last time, this is payback!!” Qing Ting blew up her dragon of sword light with a wave of her hand and sent it raining down on the second step ghost king.

Azure sword rain enveloped the area; ordinary ghost kings couldn’t approach her.

“An unparalleled genius of the Hongmeng!” The king’s ghostfire twitched. “You can’t be allowed to continue developing, or you’ll be another Hua Fengwen. Die!!”

Swoosh!

A large black sickle abruptly materialized in its hands, made of the same material as Li Zhen’s ghost-headed blade!

The sickle swung with infinite ghostly force and rammed upward at Qing Ting’s sword rain.

She paled with consternation and her golden body flickered for a second. Her collection of king grade treasures vibrated and shattered one after another.

“That isn’t an ordinary second step ghost king!” She quickly grasped the truth of the matter and reformed her king grade flying sword with a wave of her hand. It returned to her grasp and she slashed it outward several times to defuse the ghostly force.

The ghost king didn’t give her time to catch her breath. The sickle whirled in a frenzied dance, delivering blow upon blow to Qing Ting. She didn’t even have time to take out Detonation Talismans.

A tide of ghosts had surrounded Li Zhen. While he faced ordinary ghosts, there were too many of them—and quite a few superior realm ghosts at that. Covered with blood, his wounds wafted terrible ghostly qi. However, he still swung mechanically, continuing to ponder over Lu Yun’s stroke.

Li Zhen had forgotten the circumstances of the move, but he remembered its essence and true meaning.

Transform into a dragon!

Transform into a dragon!

Not through the sealed dragon bloodline in his body, but with the power of his mind! Not a true dragon of flesh and blood, but one in spirit and symbolization!

…he seemed to understand something.

Booooom!

A dragon shadow floated up from his body—not a projection from his sealed bloodline, but from his mind.

Hummm!

His next stroke reached five thousand kilometers into the distance and vanquished every ghost that the black sword light encountered!

“If I wish to slay a dragon, I must become one first! I will slay tangible dragons while I am an intangible one! …I see!” His black hair flowed freely in the wind, daring and dynamic. He struck again and again, eliminating every ghost in the area.

He finally possessed the battle strength of a titled duke.

“Champion Duke, let me help you!” He jumped up into the air and landed by Lu Yun’s side, slicing down on the ghost king the latter faced.

Li Zhen didn’t go to Qing Ting as the second step king was too frightening; he wouldn’t be able to kill it either. It was better to help Lu Yun kill this first step king first, then focus the strength of three dukes on the second step ghost king.

“Well met!” Lu Yun’s eyes lit up.

Li Zhen’s blow sent the unprepared ghost king flying out over the land. Lu Yun beckoned with both hands and twisted the two silver dragons around each other, churning the ghost king to pieces.

The power within the ghost king that violated order flooded into his body and was devoured by the flame of order. A third tendril of fire finally solidified.